PART 9
THE LAST HUNT
May 5.
We marched to the very borders of Gimiro. The soldiers said farewell to war,
and those who for the whole march had not succeeded in killing anyone,
resorted to all kinds of truths and untruths in order to fill this deficiency.
Among them is even established a special sport. When the detachment abandons a
bivouac, they hide in lean-to cabins and wait for when natives come to the
abandoned position, and then shoot at the natives from ambush. But this
amusement sometimes costs the hunters very dearly, and many have paid with
their lives.
May 6.
We went through the border forest by the same trail by which we had crossed
this frontier at the start of the campaign. The trail which we had cleared was
in places obstructed by enormous trees which had been ripped up by a violent
storm, and we had to clear it again. We entered Gimiro; and cheerful sounds of
flutes let the inhabitants who about the arrival of the army. The Gimiro came
out to greet us; and on meeting the Ras, they fell down on their knees and
kissed the ground and beat their chests with their hands to express their joy
on the occasion of our safe return. The governor of the area, Ato Kassem, came
to the bivouac. The old man wept with joy. We greedily tried to get news from
him; but here on the outskirts, there was little that he knew.
Interesting speculation had circulated about us among the Gimiro when we had
set out the first time. They said that we would go down from the mountains
into a low-lying desert covered with fog. Guides would refuse to lead us, but
the Ras would go ahead anyway and would die with his army. Others claimed that
we would all be carried away by water.
May 9.
We entered Chana. I again climbed Mount Bokan. It rained at night, and in the
morning the air was exceptionally clear. I took advantage of this to take
azimuths on distant mountains.
>From the bivouac at Chana, I set out with several ashkers and twenty soldiers
of Ato Kassem to hunt for elephants. Zelepukin also went with me. We walked up
until it was completely dark, going down from the western slopes of the main
mountain range. The trail lay among very dense forest. When it had become
quite dark, we stopped at the solitary farmstead of a Kaffa. The owner of the
property lived in a small cabin with his wife and two children. His house had
been burnt down during the conquest of Kaffa. Now he was finishing building a
new dwelling, which was already almost ready. There remained only to cover the
roof. A heavy rain was falling. We had no tent with us, so we cut banana
leaves with our sabers, covered the roof with them, and spent the night in the
house which was being built.
May 10.
We set out at dawn. It was very fresh and damp, and the thermometer indicated
7o Reaumur [48o F]. We turned north and went along the western slopes of the
mountain range. We crossed the River Menu, which at this place is still an
insignificant mountain stream, and crossed other tributaries of the Sobat. At
twelve noon, we entered the region of Bita and stopped at the house of its
leader, Bita-rashi, at the natural boundary of Kushore. The farmstead of
Bita-rashi was surrounded by banana plantations; and inside a tidy courtyard,
enclosed by intricate wattle fencing, stand several small houses. Bita-rasha
is a tall, elderly, typical Kaffa grandee. He came out to meet us himself,
surrounded by his servants, and received me very hospitably.
He is a Christian, one of the number converted by the to him by Massaey.
Bita-rasha is from the Amaro tribe which always gravitated toward Christianity
and was one of the first that responded to the appeal of Massaey.
Blessings to all
Biniam
Arlington,Virginia, USA